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FOSIL News & Views IV 21st May 2020 Dear All How is everyone doing? The new message about ‘Being Alert’ is certainly causing a great deal of discussion. More of us seem to be out and about – and continuing to practice ‘Social Distancing’. Books left on doorsteps or hanging on front door knockers continues to be the norm as so many of us are running out of reading material. Do not forget – Borrow Box is still accessible and free using your library card. Our lovely library remains closed for now. Take care and stay safe. Our contact details remain the same: [email protected] FOSIL Committee: Janet Axten Val Clayson Jane Dews Tricia Friskney-Adams Gill Malcolm Anna Martin Margaret Notman Phil Saward Ann Wilcox Book Recommendation Liane Moriarty Nine Perfect Strangers I enjoy Liane’s work, her books are set in Australia. This book is about nine people who, all for various reasons, have booked into a luxury retreat. It is great to get to know the characters and the reasons they have booked the retreat. I am sure many of us will identify with some of the characters. It was certainly a page turner, waiting to see what will happen next. There is humour and suspense. Definitely a great summer and lock-down read. Warning, it may put you off going to a Health Spa or Retreat! Reviewd by Jane Dews Liane Moriarty is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Big Little Lies, The Husband's Secret, and Truly Madly Guilty, the New York Times bestsellers What Alice Forgot and The Last Anniversary, and The Hypnotist's Love Story and Three Wishes. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children. Please email your Book Review and / or Recommendation to: [email protected] FOSIL Bookclub Every Wednesday afternoon we battle with the intricacies of ZOOM and ‘meet’ to discuss literary works (amongst other things) with our latest member joining in from Florida, USA. Does it matter that we haven’t read the same books? Not really as it provides opportunities for wider discussions and experiences to be raised. Topics covered to date include Russian Literature, Poetry and travel writing. Last week we focussed on Greek Myths, with a focus on Medusa – who seemed to be having a significant affect on our software. Our next topic is ‘Spanish Literature’ and will investigate the influence of the Spanish Civil War. Once again, no doubt, it will lead to wider discussions around … anything really! Anyone can join – just email us so that an invite can be sent to you to enable us to join: [email protected] Do you keep a diary on your travels? Extract by Bob Wilcox In the summer of 2001 Anne and I were passengers on a container ship called ‘The city of Istanbul’. We departed from Felixstowe on 7th August. I kept a log of our journey and the following is an extract. Day 18 - Friday 24th August 2001 A Walk in Asia If I die tomorrow this is the reason. I walked through the crazy bus station at Harem on the Asian side of Istanbul. My route was along the course of the Bosporus towards Leander Tower. It was early evening with a romantic sky over the European city. Nothing could be described as such on my walk, but I preferred it that way. Glitz – I cannot stand even the grandest Topkapi. It makes me recoil! Back to the walk… The Asian side of the Bosporus is littered with crumbling boats. They are occupied. People fishing, cooking, and eating, throwing things at cats that try to steal food. On the banks, chickens and ducks scavenge amongst the rubble and rubbish on the waterline. An old man sits at a makeshift table frying bits of meat, adding peppers and unknown spices. I produce a one million lira note. I give it to him and he smiled producing a small chair for me to sit on overlooking the boat village. A crusty half loaf is presented to me with courtesy. The bread is fresh. The food he gave me was mysterious and the taste spicy. I ate every scrap, not even giving a piece to a little black and white cat that appeared between my legs. I thanked the old man and saw he was washing his utensils in a bucket of murky water probably obtained from the busy waterway. I dismissed this and wandered back to the Harem Ship Details where the manic atmosphere had increased. Groups of men Call Sign: Victor Two Mike Charlie were hammering on home made drums, and cars were accelerating off the ferry with the obligatory sound of horns. Cruising Range: 11000 N. Miles I reached my haven. The ships quarters are air conditioned Route Taken: with a constant sound of generators. This blocked out all Felixstowe: Rotterdam → Antwerp → Tunis → activity that was taking place less than a few hundred yards th Istanbul → Izmir → Felixstowe (5 September) from my room on the container ship called ‘The City of Total Distance: 6,560 N. Miles Istanbul’. Poetry Group May 2020 – Reflection(s) This month’s theme / starting point has been ‘Reflection(s)’, inviting our contributors to tread either of two paths. Some poetry group members have written on reflection(s) by way of considering something, and then commenting upon it. ‘Here’s what I think.’ ‘Here’s what I feel’. Some have approached the topic literally, seeing the images in a mirror, or on the surface of a lake, for example. But even here we can find ourselves reflecting, inwardly, on what the reflections say to us. Ivor Frankell starts with a quotation Liz White takes us further down the road of the image and what we make of it. Reflections on the water Reflections “La mer est ton miroir; tu contemples ton ame Dans le deroulement infini de sa lame..” - Baudelaire Reflections come and go. Fleeting images filtered through perceptions. Reflections on the water Their transitory nature turning the world's wheels, Reveal the turbulence beneath the surface like water through the old mills. The sea is not a mirror But a chasmal surge of broken stars Reflections reveal points of view, A jumble of prismatic glass. different takes on what is projected, There are bursts of sunlight dark and sombre or sparkling with light. Flashing orbs across the sea, Sparkling dragons’ tails The reflective mind sifts experiences Spray hurled across the front like flour falling through a sieve, As the sea crashes into the shore. letting in the air through the myriad soft grains, allowing lightness to infuse the mix. The smashed reflections are washed up Like fragments of God’s imagination Anne Wilcox surely speaks for many of us, contrasting memory and current experience, but ending positively. Dragged in on the flow of bubbling waves, The stranded driftwood of the soul. Reflections on Restrictions Keith Parker’s mirror shows himself in the act of... Sitting on a bench, at the end of Hain Walk, Reflecting on Reflections I look over the bay to the island and my home, The rain has passed and the sea sparkles in the sun How lucky we are to live here. Standing at the mirror I see The reflected image of me, In spite of all this, I remain restless. Me reflecting on memories of years past, I want to ride the buses, have coffee with friends, Reflection in a tranquil sea Read my book in the comfort of a cafe or hotel, Of a vivid blue sky, Drop in for a chat or give someone a hug. Reflection of a mountain panorama In mirror focus on a loch, My mind drifts back to the past, Reflections of life on evening air To long distance footpaths, to caves high in the desert, Of childhood memories and long summer days, To Italian cities and tiny haunts on the coasts, The mirror image of a window pane But especially to India. Will I ever go again? Reflecting present life passing by, And then I realise how lucky I have been, That window on life reflected in the mirror A happy life, varied and with love. Staring back to the reflected me. I am grateful for my seventy plus years. And will I go to India again? Clive Palmer (1943 – 2014 ) and Cornish Folk Clive Palmer is probably best known as a founder member of the Incredible String Band (ISB), the legendary British psychedelic folk band from the mid-1960s. He was a singer, songwriter, band leader and multi-instrumentalist, with exceptional banjo skills, who never really sought fame within the music business. Following his beatnik principles, he travelled the hippy trail, hitching to Afghanistan and India, while his fellow ISB members started touring and promoting the group in the UK without him. Music was certainly a large part of his life but he loved arts and crafts of all types, being particularly skilled in leatherwork and woodwork, culminating in the making of the first set of Cornish bagpipes in 500 years! Although not a Cornishman by birth, he chose to spend the majority of his life within the county – from initial musical trips with Wizz Jones busking and playing the emerging Cornish folk club circuit, to longer summer stays in caravans, until eventual permanent residence for much of his later years. Rather than give a potted history of his life story here you can experience most of it in Clive’s own words, recorded in his Penzance front room as part of an interview with ‘Folk in Cornwall’ author Rupert White during the summer of 2010.

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